The Left Berlin News & Comment

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Month: January 2025

A Nazi War Criminal Honored in Olaf Scholz’s Office

Hans Globke authored the Nazis’ Nuremberg Race Laws. His portrait still hangs in the Federal Chancellery. Is this what Olaf Scholz means when he says antisemitism has no place in Germany?


24/01/2025

Speaking in the German parliament, the Bundestag, Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared that “antisemitism has no place in Germany.” He promised a “clear stand” against it, and at the time of the speech in late 2023, almost all pro-Palestinian demonstrations were prohibited. This principle does not seem to apply to his own office, however: a portrait of the Nazi war criminal Hans Globke hangs in the Federal Chancellery in Berlin.

It’s not that the painting has been overlooked in some dusty closet. After the war, Globke served as the head of West Germany’s Chancellery from 1953 to 1963, and today portraits of all former directors hang on a wall. Where exactly? The Chancellery only offers vague answers: “In a corridor in an administrative section.” What does the portrait look like? No answer.

Instead of removing this honor for an antisemitic “desk perpetrator” [someone who did the paperwork to administer genocide], the Chancellory had a “controversial discussion” and decided in 2020 to add a sign to the portrait so that observers could “independently evaluate Globke’s political biography,” in the words of a government spokesperson. The accompanying text ends with the words: “The legislation to which Hans Globke contributed formed the basis for the persecution, deportation, and murder of the German and European Jews as well as the Sinti and Roma.” 

The plaque is correct to say that Globke was “co-author of the first commentary on the Nuremberg Race Laws of 1935” — but this only reflects a small part of his crimes. As early as 1932, as an official in the Prussian Interior Ministry, he issued a decree making it more difficult for Jewish people to change their names, so that their “blood lineage” could not be hidden. Later, under Nazi Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick, Globke helped eliminate parliamentary democracy in Prussia. There is evidence that Globke was responsible for the deportation of tens of thousands of Jews from Greece. In short, he was among the people most centrally responsible for the Holocaust. 

According to the government spokesman, the painting implies no “judgement” of Globke. A peculiar understanding of how portraits work! With the same logic, they could hang a picture of former German chancellor Adolf Hitler right next to it – without any “judgement” of course, so that everyone could form their own opinion.


Impunity 

Globke was never brought to justice for his crimes. After the war, he continued his career as a government official, and was appointed head of the Chancellery in 1953. He was the “brown right hand” of the conservative West German chancellor Konrad Adenauer [brown being the color of the Nazis]. His boss justified this rehabilitation with the words: “One does not throw out dirty water as long as one doesn’t have any clean water!” Globke, in turn, helped numerous former Nazis in the Federal Republic of (West) Germany. As the historian and lawyer Klaus Bästlein told nd, Globke played a “significant role in the re-Nazification of the ministerial bureaucracy in Bonn,” the capital of West Germany. 

A criminal investigation into Globke was opened in Frankfurt in 1960, but closed under pressure from Adenauer. Since at least 1952, West German secret services had known that the war criminal Adolf Eichmann was hiding in Argentina. Whether Globke personally covered for this mass murderer has not yet been established. What is certain is that Eichmann had made incriminating statements about Globke which were suppressed on the initiative of the West German government and the CIA.

Globke supported the Reparations Agreement between West Germany and Israel. In the words of Pankaj Mishra, he became a symbol of German-Israel relations: “moral absolution of an insufficiently de-Nazified and still profoundly antisemitic Germany in return for cash and weapons.”


Trial

As a result of this impunity, both in the Federal Republic and in Israel, the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) took over the prosecution under the principle of universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity. The GDR’s Supreme Court held a two-week trial in the summer of 1963, and sentenced Globke in absentia to life imprisonment. 

Bästlein analyzed the trial for his 2018 book Der Fall Globke (The Globke Case) and concluded that, although the trial was “conducted for reasons of propaganda and not prepared in accordance with the rule of law,” the verdict was nonetheless “legally flawless” and “based on international law.” Accusations of a “show trial” and “propaganda” are often raised — but the evidence is nevertheless clear.

At the time, the main East German newspaper Neues Deutschland described Globke as an “intellectual murderer of millions of Jews.” A few days before the trial, the newspaper quoted workers from the Leuna plant: “We simply cannot understand how such a bloodstained person can hold office in a state today.”

Today it is equally hard to understand. Accusations of antisemitism are leveled regularly against pro-Palestinian activists, even when they are Jewish. Yet when dealing with conservative German antisemites, leniency is the rule. In cases like those of Hans Globke, Heinrich Lummer, or Heinrich von Treitschke, we are told that a historical figure should not be reduced to their hatred against Jews. Bästlein is clear: “Globke was never a democrat nor a supporter of the values of [West Germany’s postwar] Basic Law.” That’s why a clear stand is called for in the Chancellery. 

This article was first published in German in nd, it was translated by the author.

Against the Weaponisation of Antisemitism to Impose Censorship in Education

Open Letter from Students and Educators


22/01/2025

If you’d like to sign the resolution, you can do so on this page.

We, the students, educators and workers of German colleges and universities, are alarmed by the resolution ‘Steadfastly Opposing Antisemitism and Israelphobia in Schools and Tertiary Education While Securing Free Space for Discourse’. Purportedly dedicated to fighting antisemitism, this resolution more so threatens the safety of students and calls  for the undermining of academic liberty as well as the autonomy of higher education institutions. 

We are in agreement with criticism from scientists, German antisemitism researchers, and international expert organisations and consequently oppose this resolution, together with its predictable and grave consequences for academic freedom and diversity of perspective. Furthermore, according to many legal experts, the resolution raises significant constitutional concerns.

On November 7, 2024, despite heavy criticism, the Bundestag passed a primary resolution under the title ‘Never again is now: Protect, Preserve and strengthen Jewish Life in Germany’ with majority favour in nearly all parties, including the AfD. A new resolution against antisemitism is now being proposed—one aimed at education facilities. It is projected to be put to vote at the end of January. 

The resolution feeds a distorted narrative that denigrates Palestine solidarity activism and undermines the role of the university as a place of open exchange and political debate. The resolution selectively cites studies from the University of Konstanz, omitting important findings that show antisemitism is lower among students than in the general population. It calls for “exchanges between universities and security authorities […] with intensity and regularity” (III.2), the expansion of legal measures and repressive tools, the strengthening of security measures and the expulsion of students who express undesirable views. According to the resolution, supporters of “the ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’ movement (BDS for short) and similar movements […] must have no place in German educational and academic institutions” (III.10). The use of such imprecise language to define who should be excluded from German universities is alarming and extends the scope of state repression far beyond the pro-Palestinian student movement. Furthermore, the resolution isolates German universities from international partner institutions, puts them at odds with international law, undermines their credibility and risks global backlash.

The proposed resolution reinforces the very tools that have been and continue to be used to justify police violence against students and terminations of artists, lecturers, speakers, researchers and others for their political views.

In Gaza, all schools and universities have been bombed and literally destroyed by Israel since October 2023. Israel is responsible for the killing of countless students, researchers, artists, doctors and journalists in the Gaza Strip, which amounts to a scholasticide of the Palestinian education system. According to a special committee of the United Nations, Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide, to which Germany is contributing with supplies of weapons, among other things. At the international level, Germany has therefore already been accused of complicity in the genocide and yet continues to defend Israel against relevant lawsuits before the International Court of Justice.

On a national level, in the name of supposedly protecting Jewish life in Germany, the state and institutions are increasingly using repressive measures and deterrence tactics against Palestine solidarity activists, including many Jewish people, undermining their freedom of opinion and political expression. The proposed resolution reinforces the very tools that have been and continue to be used to justify police violence against students and terminations of artists, lecturers, speakers, researchers and others for their political views. The Archive of Silence project documents cases of dismissals, firings, and other forms of repression of pro-Palestinian – including Jewish – voices.

The resolution undermines the meritocratic processes of funding allocation inherent in science by emphasizing that “federal funding is awarded exclusively on the basis of scientific excellence” and that “scientific excellence and anti-Semitism are mutually exclusive” (III.9). In doing so, it relies solely on the controversial definition of antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which equates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Substantive criticism of the inaccuracy and documented misuse of this definition to discriminate against people on the basis of their political opinion is ignored. As a result, the release of federal funding is made dependent on the political views of the researchers, which is intended to silence legitimate criticism of Israeli policy. Freedom of research is incompatible with state control of research funding and the monitoring of private and political statements and activities. In spring 2024, for example, a girls’ club in Berlin was terminated without notice due to the political attitudes of its staff, while at the same time the BMBF investigated whether funding could be withdrawn from researchers who had spoken out against the criminalization of pro-Palestinian students. The actions of the minister in office at the time of the BMBF “Fördergate” scandal are explicitly welcomed in the draft resolution (I.), which is alarming.

The resolution expands the one-sided teaching of antisemitism and the state of Israel in the context of education about the Middle East, while excluding Palestine and Palestinians, who are only mentioned in the context of Hamas, as legitimate topics for teaching and research. The Beutelsbach Consensus, which was developed against the indoctrination of the Third Reich, stipulates that learners should have access to different perspectives on social and political issues and thus be able to think critically and form their own opinions. The one-sidedness in research and teaching propagated in the resolution contradicts independent, critical education that is free from political indoctrination.

For these reasons, we reject the resolution and call for an approach that respects different perspectives and preserves academic freedom.

Demands

We, the undersigned, call on university administrations, faculty leaders, student representatives, student initiatives and university staff to take a principled stance against the authoritarian threat posed by the suggested resolution.

We demand that the above-named parties:

  1. take a clear public stance against the resolution’s undermining of academic freedom, freedom of expression and violation of university autonomy.
  2. reject the use of the IHRA definition as the sole, official and legal definition of antisemitism at research and educational institutions.
  3. reject the call for increased securitization at universities through “close exchange with security authorities” (III.12.e) and carceral logics, including by establishing an anti-racism and anti-discrimination office and independent protocols for de-escalating conflicts without police presence.
  4. counter anti-Palestinian bias with balanced curricula that include Palestinian history at all levels of education, Palestinian knowledge production and teaching about Palestinians beyond their role as an occupied people.
  5. “advocate for research and teaching in accordance with international law and for consistent action in cases of non-compliance by universities, research institutes and other academic institutions” (quote from the working principles of the Alliance for Critical and Solidarity Science).

___________________________________________________________________________________

First signatories

Groups

Not In Our Name TU Berlin

Not In Our Name ASH Berlin

Not In Our Name UdK Berlin

Linksjugend [‘solid] Hessen

Linksjugend [‘solid] Fulda

DieLinke.SDS Fulda

DieLinke.SDS Marburg

Students for Palestine FU Berlin

Students for Palestine Hannover

Students for Palestine Würzburg

Students for Palestine Bonn

Students for Palestine Freiburg

Students for Palestine Halle

Students for Palestine Hamburg

Students for Palestine Münster

Students for Palestine Fulda

Students for Palestine Leipzig

Students for Palestine Darmstadt

Bündnis Palästinasolidarität Marburg

BAK Klassenkampf in der Linksjugend [‘solid]

Uni(te) for Pali, Bremen

Queer Liberational Action

Decolonize Charité Berlin

Ingolstadt Eichstätt for Palestine

Stand UP for Palestine

Kritische SKA, Leipzig

KIARA (Kritische Islamwissenschaftler*innen und Arabist*innen), Leipzig

Individuals (alphabetical order)

Enrica Audano, Universität Leipzig

Prof. Michael Barenboim, Barenboim-Said Akademie

Niklas Barth, Linke Frankfurt am Main

Prof. Dr. Christine Binzel, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg

Adam Broomberg, Künstler

Dr. Irene Brunotti, Universität Leipzig

Prof. Celine Condorelli

Dr. Mark Curran

Jasmin Daka

Prof. Dr. Dr. Donatella Della Porta, Scuola Normale Superiore

Anna Ehrenstein

Dr. Jannis Julien Grimm, Freie Universität Berlin

Hanna Hertel, Studentin, Mitglied GEW Berlin

Dr. Thomas Herzmark, Universität Göttingen

Dr. Angela Last

Lucilla Lepratti, Universität Leipzig

Dr. Lara Krause-Alzaidi, Universität Leipzig

Urs Kollhöfer, Mitglied im Landesvorstand der Linken Hessen

Urs Kroll, Student, Mitglied GEW Berlin

Dr. Nils Riecken, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Matthias Riedl, Mitglied im Landesvorstand der Linken Hessen

Prof. Dr. Marc Siegel, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Maxi Schulz, Student*in, Mitglied GEW Berlin

Prof. Dr. Hendrik Süß, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

Margarita Tsomou, Kuratorin

Laura Oettel, Studentin, Mitglied GEW Berlin

Antonia Marquardt, Jugendpolitische Sprecherin der Linken Hessen

Prof. Dr. Agata Lisiak, Bard College Berlin

Prof. Dr. Olaf Zenker, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

Further supporters

  1. Prof. Dr. Schirin Amir-Moazami
  2. Elakoum Mounib 
  3. Prof. Dr. Michael Zander, Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal 
  4. Nasrin Karimi Rechtsanwältin
  5. Amanda Pope
  6. Norbert Lang, Journalist
  7. John Lütten, Universität Hamburg
  8. Prof. Dr. Robin Celikates, Freie Universität Berlin
  9. Julia Vogel
  10. Prof. Dr. Susanne Leeb, Kunsthistorikerin, Berlin/Lüneburg
  11. Aino Korvensyrjä, Freie Universität Berlin
  12. Dr. Carmen Becker
  13. Prof.Dr. Sabine Broeck, Universität Bremen
  14. Maher Ben Abdessalem
  15. PD Dr. Julia Vorhölter, Max Planck Institut für ethnologische Forschung
  16. Phillipp Slanina, Student
  17. Dr. Roy Karadag, Universität Bremen
  18. Prof. Dr. Manfred Liebel, Berlin/Potsdam
  19. Carla Schumann, Studentin, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
  20. Annefei Borgs-Uhlendorf
  21. Prof. Dr. Uli Beisel, Freie Universität Berlin
  22. Carolin Loysa, Freie Universität Berlin
  23. Jamal Sreiss
  24. Dr. Jeanne Féaux de la Croix
  25. Prof. Dr. Angela Harutyunyan, UdK Berlin
  26. Dr. Hanna Nieber, Max-Planck-Institut für ethnologische Forschung
  27. Kawthar El-Qasem, Düsseldorf
  28. Dr. Anne Menzel, Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik an der Universität Hamburg
  29. Yuri Kwon
  30. Dr. Jannik Schritt, Universität Göttingen
  31. Prof. Dr. Anika König, Freie Universität Berlin
  32. Linda Beck, Universität Göttingen
  33. Wolfgang Lörcher, DIE LINKE Fulda
  34. Leonie Benker, Freie Universität Berlin
  35. Dr. Mathias Delori, CNRS-Forscher, Centre Marc Bloch
  36. Prof. Dr. Alice von Bieberstein, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
  37. Nick Bley, Senator Universität Kassel
  38. Thomas Götzelmann, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
  39. Aaron Miller, Universität Leipzig, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
  40. Raphaël Grisey, Filmmacher
  41. Marina Luna, Free University Berlin
  42. Christin Sander, FU Berlin
  43. Dr. Philipp Zehmisch, Universität Heidelberg
  44. Dr. Nicole Wolf, Universität London und freiberufliche Dozentin Berlin
  45. Dr. Benjamin Schütze, Arnold Bergstraesser Institut (ABI) Freiburg
  46. Prof. Dr. Martin Sökefeld, LMU Müchen
  47. Pia Berghoff, Freie Universität Berlin
  48. Daniel Shuminov, Goethe Universität
  49. Dr. Bettina Gräf, LMU München
  50. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang M. Schröder, Universität Würzburg
  51. Mithu Sanyal, Schriftstellerin und Kulturwissenschaftlerin
  52. Prof.Dr. Rupa Viswanath, Universität Göttingen
  53. Alma Kulha
  54. Aseela Haque, Freie Universität Berlin
  55. Susanne Schultz, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt/Main
  56. Anil Shah, Universität Kassel
  57. Dr. Ximena Alba
  58. Marius Bickhardt (Centre Marc Bloch/Sciences Po Paris)
  59. Huan Chen, Universität Münster
  60. Prof. Dr. Dominik Mattes, Freie Universität Berlin
  61. Christian Strippel, Weizenbaum-Institut
  62. Anna Hofmann Fraktionsvorsitzende der Linken im Landkreis Marburg-Biedenkopf
  63. Laure Piguet, Centre Marc Bloch/Université de Fribourg
  64. Noémie Regnaut, Université Paris-Sorbonne Nouvelle – Centre Marc Bloch Berlin
  65. Anonym, Centre Marc Bloch/EHESS
  66. Dr. Déborah Brosteaux, Marc Bloch Zentrum (Berlin)
  67. Marianne Adam (Centre Marc Bloch/Université de Tours)
  68. Florian Muhl, Universität Hamburg
  69. Mareike Biesel, Universität Göttingen
  70. Karlotta Bahnsen, Freie Universität Berlin
  71. Layla Kiefel (Universität Konstanz, Centre Marc Bloch)
  72. Elfi Padovan Münchner Friedensbündnis
  73. Dr. Dörthe Engelcke, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law
  74. Philipp Rauch, Student TU Darmstadt
  75. Rebeka Nasir, Studentin, Technische Universität Darmstadt
  76. Kaoutar H., Goethe Universität Frankfurt
  77. Leon Kianzad, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt/Main
  78. Christos Kourris, TU Dresden
  79. Claire van Loon, Studentin
  80. Anna Müller
  81. Miriam Bartelmann, Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institut (ABI) Freiburg
  82. Luis Kliche Navas, Freie Universität Berlin
  83. Dr. Barbara Orth, IRS
  84. Dr. Tobias Schmitt, Universität Hamburg
  85. Ariane Alba Marquez, Bundesvorstand DieLinke.SDS, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt/Main
  86. Prod. Dr. Aram Ziai, Universität Kassel
  87. Nicholas Sagberger – Uni Regensburg
  88. Dr. Alix Winter, Centre Marc Bloch
  89. Willi Hertelt, Kurt-Tucholsky-Oberschule Berlin
  90. Layla Kiefel (Universität Konstanz, Centre Marc Bloch)
  91. Qusay, TU Darmstadt
  92. Christoph Maier, Uni Leipzig
  93. Mira Schmitz, MLU Halle-Wittenberg
  94. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Gabbert, Leibniz Universität Hannover
  95. Kim Lucht, FSU Jena
  96. Lea Berger
  97. Barbara Gamper, Künstlerin und Pädagogin
  98. Taosif Talukder, TU Darmstadt
  99. Dr. Christian Ambrosius, Freie Universität Berlin
  100. Jorinde Becker, Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
  101. Jared Cobain HGB Leipzig
  102. Anna Orinsky, European University Institute
  103. Prof. Dr. Johanna Schaffer,  Kunsthochschule Kassel
  104. Andreas Weiß, Köln
  105. Eliane Diur, Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
  106. Madlen Ernst, MERA25 Berlin
  107. Abdullah Rahhal – Die Linke Freiburg und Masterstudent Uni Freiburg
  108. Rana Brentjes
  109. Sonja Brentjes, Bergische Universität Wuppertall
  110. Mareike Biesel, Universität Göttingen
  111. Thomas Ruffmann, Kleve, Musiker, politischer Erwachsenenbildner
  112. Dr. Raquel Rojas, Freie Universität Berlin
  113. Tabea Knerner, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
  114. Sara Türen 
  115. Frank Madsen Journalist
  116. Prof Ramis Örlü, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Schweden
  117. Prof. Dr. Christin Bernhold, Universität Hamburg
  118. Jasmin Sarah Hahn, Freie Universität Berlin
  119. Anna-Lena Kutzki, HAW Hamburg
  120. Sonja Rohan, Freie Universität Berlin
  121. Janine Schneider
  122. Luise Dechow, Universität Hamburg
  123. Leyla Tewes
  124. Clemens Grünberger
  125. Samah Schmitt-Razzougui
  126. Verena Müllner
  127. Selim Heers, Universität Leipzig
  128. Hava Aras
  129. Ahmed Tarek Alahwal, Universität Freiburg
  130. Raina Ivanova
  131. Hiba Banat, Studentin
  132. Graciela Bach
  133. Candice Breitz
  134. Dagmar Kohlmeier, Masterstudentin, Universität Freiburg
  135. Felicia Schmidt, Berlin
  136. Bircan Sönmez, Mera25 NRW, Düsseldorf
  137. Guillaume Carpentier, Mera25
  138. Christian Suhr – About People Film Produktion
  139. Deniz Khalifé
  140. Adrian Khalifé
  141. Louay Khalifé
  142. Ilay Khalifé
  143. Isa Khalifé
  144. Ayesha Siddiqi-Sikora
  145. Nadia El-Ali, Freie Universität Berlin
  146. Peter Förster, AK Zivilklausel der Uni Köln, Student
  147. Luca Groß, SDS Frankfurt
  148. Franziska Hildebrandt, SDS Uni Hamburg
  149. Marlies Wehner, M.A., Fachstelle für interkulturelle Bildung und Beratung-FiBB e.V.
  150. Jasper Wittenburg 
  151. J. Kamo Anselm, UHH
  152. Emily Allegra Dreyfus, Filmuniversität Babelsberg
  153. Dr. David Jordan, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
  154. Prof. Dr. Claudius Zibrowius, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
  155. Artur Brückmann, Universität Hamburg
  156. Therese Friedemann
  157. Alp Kayserilioğlu, Universität Tübingen
  158. Peter Förster, AK Zivilklausel Uni Köln
  159. Eliaz Zeilmeir, Goethe Universität Frankfurt
  160. Rand Ashqar, Freiburg Universität
  161. Jean-Marie Yazbeck, Master Student University of Freiburg
  162. Anonym, Universität Freiburg
  163. Selma Härnqvist
  164. Muayad Chalabi, Technische Universität München
  165. Andrea Sittoni, LMU München
  166. Francisco Torres, Fraunhofer ISE
  167. Richard Lenerz, Universität Trier
  168. Lenna Fischer – Uni Hannover
  169. Jana Müller, Studentin
  170. Johannes Heißler, LMU München
  171. Lale Khoshnoud, Hochschule Hannover
  172. Eudy Mahlies, Universität Leipzig, Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS)
  173. Ingo Jäger, Bezirksratsherr Hannover Vahrenwald-List
  174. Marwan Abdelaal, Technische Universität München
  175. Michael Kreich
  176. Michelle Schinkel, Universität Konstanz
  177. Hanna Neghabian, SfP
  178. Gianluca Pagliaro, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics
  179. Miriam Bartelmann, Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institut (ABI), Freiburg
  180. Björn Pohl
  181. Leonie Hiller
  182. Jasper Martins, Leibniz Universität Hannover
  183. Amir Raza (Albert Einstein Institute Hannover)
  184. Franziska Bax, Rachel Carson Center LMU München
  185. Mariel Bernnat, Universität Freiburg
  186. Lucia Grimm (Albert Ludwigs Universität Freiburg)
  187. Prof. Dr. Tahani Nadim
  188. Cora Orlando, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

Further supporting groups

Bündnis Yousef Shaban

Estudantes por Justiça na Palestina (FCSH Nova, Portugal)

Students for Palestine Mainz

Sozialistisch-Demokratischer Studierendenverband (DieLinke.SDS)

Students for Palestine Frankfurt

Die Linke Hessen

Hochschule for Palestine Darmstadt

Studis gegen Rechts Leipzig

Fachschaftsrat Politikwissenschaft (Universität Leipzig)

Uni for Palestine Munich 

Linksjugend [‘solid] Leverkusen

Decolonise HU, Berlin

Abolish Frontex

Stop all deportation! End detention!


Frontex is the personification of the EU’s repressive migration and border policies. The agency plays a leading role in EU border security and control work, deportations, cooperation with third countries and contacts with the military and security industry. In the last few years its powers, budgets and number of employees have rapidly increased. It can now give binding advice to EU member states to strengthen border security efforts and can even intervene in their border security affairs, when the Council decides to do so upon a proposal by the European Commission.

While part of Frontex’ new mandate is the building of its own standing border guards corps and equipment pool, it nevertheless depends on EU member states making personnel and equipment available to run its operations. Member states also usually request Frontex assistance, in the form of operations or otherwise.

NGOs legitimising Frontex

Frontex has a Consultative Forum, which “brings together key European institutions, international and civil society organisations to advise the European Border and Coast Guard Agency in Fundamental rights matters.” Instead of having a serious role in addressing Frontex’s role in human rights violations, this forum acts as a tool to legitimize the existence of Frontex and these violations, by providing the agency with the appearance of approval and in-house control mechanisms.

What we’re calling for:

  • Abolish Frontex
  • End all Frontex operations and remove all Frontex presence currently deployed
  • Stop the push-backs and the pull-backs
  • EU member states refuse to participate in Frontex missions – logistically (contribution of equipment and assets) and personnel-wise
  • EU member states stop requesting Frontex support for border operations and deportations
  • Cut Frontex’s budget and reject any proposed expansion
  • Disband the Frontex standing corps
  • Stop hiring new Frontex staff
  • Redirect spending on border protection towards services and resources for migrants, social services, welfare, health, education and transitioning towards a low-carbon economy
  • NGOs: leave Frontex’s Consultative Forum

More information here

News from Berlin and Germany, 22nd January 2024

Weekly news round-up from Berlin and Germany


NEWS FROM BERLIN

Association calls for the AfD to be excluded from Holocaust commemorations

The Berlin Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime – League of Anti-Fascists (VVN -BdA) is calling on politicians to exclude the AfD from the Holocaust commemorations on 27 January. This day marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz extermination camp. The AfD is using its participation in commemorative events to present itself as a supposedly normal democratic party, the association explained. At the same time, as an extreme right-wing party, it is conducting a fundamental attack on the culture of remembrance in Germany. The Association is also calling for 8 May to be declared a public holiday: “This is long overdue.” Source: juedische allgemeine

Deutsche Bahn announces replacement services and diversions on the Berlin-Hamburg route

The railway line between Berlin and Hamburg will be renovated from August this year until April 2026. During the refurbishment, DB plans to deploy more than 170 buses to cushion the impact of the line closure. Long-distance trains will then be rerouted via Stendal, Salzwedel and Uelzen. For passengers, this will mean a 45-minute longer journey time. In local transport, some regional lines will be rerouted. 180 kilometres of track and 28 stations along the route will be renovated. Source: rbb

NEWS FROM GERMANY

It’s going to be tight

The deadlines for postal voting are so short that Germans abroad may not be able to cast their vote. Because of the early election, everything must happen quickly, and postal voting is the only way for Germans abroad to cast their vote. But they must first register on the electoral roll and can only apply for postal voting on the Federal Returning Officer’s website until 2 February. In order to be counted, all documents must be in the ballot boxes of the relevant constituencies by 6 pm on the day of the Bundestag election, 23 February. Source: taz

AfD adopts election manifesto: for remigration and against Islamisation

The AfD has adopted key points of its programme for the federal elections. The focus is on a stricter migration policy under the term “remigration,” withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, and the reintroduction of a national currency. The party is also calling for the Nord Stream pipelines to be repaired, an easing of sanctions against Russia, and the reactivation of compulsory military service. Issues such as maintaining the debt brake, abandoning compulsory vaccination, and stricter regulations for social benefits underline the party’s programme, and the election manifesto also devotes a great deal of space to the topics of Islam and integration. Source: islamiq

Bremen youth centre: 3 men on trial for arson attack

A fire was set at the Friese youth centre in the Bremen district during a concert in 2020, when more than 30 people were in the building. All three defendants have links to the far-right scene. According to the indictment, three of the victims suffered smoke inhalation and other injuries. The property damage is estimated at around 180,000 euros. The secondary prosecution accuses the investigating authorities of not having investigated with sufficient vigour – for instance, investigators only searched the defendants’ flats a year and a half later. Source: buten un binnen

AfD investigated for distributing “deportation tickets” for migrants

German police are investigating a local branch of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party after people from migrant communities in Karlsruhe found AfD-branded “deportation tickets” in their letterboxes. An article in the local newspaper Badische Neueste Nachrichten pointed out that the ticket campaign resembles a similar action by the neo-Nazi NPD in 2013, during which the NPD’s branch in Berlin distributed “journey home tickets” to discourage candidates with migrant backgrounds from standing in the election. Marc Bernhard (AfD) declared for the German public broadcaster SWR that such “deportation tickets” had also been given out at election stands and at the party’s conference in Saxony on January 11 and 12. Source: iamexpat

Record year for German wind energy despite AfD criticism

According to the German industry’s latest figures, the most important source of electricity generation in the country received a major boost in 2024. The regulatory authorities approved more than 2,400 new onshore wind turbines with a total capacity of around 14 gigawatts: a record figure, according to a new report by the German Wind Energy Association and VDMA Power Systems, the association for power plant technology. However, despite the positive figures, the AfD rejects German energy policy and wind energy in particular a central part of its election campaign. Alice Weidel (AfD) considers renewable energies to be “fluttering electricity” and wants nuclear power instead. Source: dw

Is Elon Musk a Nazi?

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21/01/2025

Of course he is. End of article.